Portions of Detroit consent agreement struck down by Lansing judge

An Ingham County judge ruled Wednesday that portions of Detroit's consent agreement with the state violate Public Act 4, which provides for state-appointed emergency managers, Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette's office confirmed.

Yearout said a written copy of the ruling has not been filed or made available for review but is expected to be tomorrow.

She said any comment would likely come from the Treasury Department or Gov. Rick Snyder's Office.

The Detroit Free Press, according to statements made by Novi-based attorney Andrew Paterson representing the AFSCME Council 25 union, reported that the sections in question were used by the state advisory board to impose 10 percent pay cuts to all city employees and enact work rule changes.

Detroit City Council voted April 4 to approve the consent agreement, a contract with Lansing that provided a state-appointed advisory board and Mayor Dave Bing powers previously nonexistent in the City Charter.

In exchange, the state agreed not to appoint an emergency manager in financially strained Detroit.